Ben Greenwald

Bio: Ben Greenwald - Biathlon
Hometown: Minneapolis, MN
Home Ski Club: Go! Training

Significant results: 3rd place US Biathlon Nationals, 3rd place Youth Team Trials

Sponsors: Madshus, Powerbar

Travel must have's: Food, cell phone charger
Favorite season: Fall

Additional Info: Maine will be the 5th state I've lived in.

Ride Aroostook
November 10, 2011

Just did Ride Aroostook and it was a great time. For all of you that don't know what it is (and I can completely understand if you don't, this was the first year) Ride Aroostook is a 150 mile, two day bike ride to raise money for Kids with Type 1 diabetes. It was a great event and I want to thank everyone that donated on my page and if anyone missed out I am happy to announce that it's not too late. Even though I have already put in the hours on the bike you can still donate and help kids with this lifelong dieses here http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/bengreenwald/ride.

But back to the ride itself. The ride was a great adventure through areas around Presque Isle that I have not ridden before. The volunteers were very good and even though it was not a race and it was just a tour I had a good opportunity to get some hard riding in. After two days in a row of 4+ hours on the bike I got thinking about what it would be like to be a road bike racer. Even though I don't really have the build for a bike racer it might be cool. I would really like to be a time trial specialist (mostly because I am too big to be a climber and no one aspires just be a helper).

The ride was a ton of fun mostly for the reason that it was cool to ride with so many different people. We have a pretty small training group up in Fort Kent so training with the Nordic team was enjoyable in itself but getting to ride with the many cyclists from the Presque Isle area was a real pleasure.

The race organizers did such a great job putting the tour together that the 150 miles just melted away and didn't even feel like a chore. They had awesome rest stops set up every 20 or 25 miles so we were never far from some good fuel and friendly smiles. All in all the tour was a lot of fun, for a good cause and something I would recommend to everyone in the area.

Tales from the Green Mountain State
October 1, 2011

The Maine Winter Sports Center's biathlon team made its annual trek to the Green Mountain State to participate in the North American Rollerski Biathlon Championships. Of the four years I've gone to Jericho to take part in these races, this was the best yet. The weather was very cooperative and the accommodations were quite nice.

Even though the training is superb up in the County, it is always nice to enjoy a change of scenery and meet up with other biathletes from around the country. Most of the team enjoyed a solid block of training even though there were some big races at the end o f the week. Along with skiing the roller loop, we also hiked Mount Mansfield, the highest summit in Vermont. It was fun having our own personal tour guide on the mountain, Melissa Manning, who used to live in the area before joining up with MWSC this past June.

While we didn't have the greatest weather for the races themselves, it was still a good competition. The first day of competition was a sprint, followed by pursuit on Day 2. These races were very important for both the younger group, as well as the more experienced athletes, because they were the last qualifying races for the Youth Olympic Games. They were equally important for the senior athletes, as they were the first qualifying races for the November trip to Sweden. Trials races are always high stress situation, even when they're on rollerskis.

The races were a good start to the biathlon season, as they highlighted areas that needed to be improved. I think we were all proud that even though the conditions weren't great, we still performed to the best of our ability and built up our mental reserves. Now we are taking some much needed rest time before we get back to some serious training at Sugarloaf, Maine for a hill training camp with the Nordic team. It's shaping up to be a great season! Stay tuned to hear about all are other great adventures.

- back to top -